The founder of the website that Dominique Perico used to drug his wife and then solicit dozens of men to rape her was indicted in France on Thursday on a myriad of charges, including those related to the incident. It was done.
If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to 7.5 million euros (about $7.7 million).
The site’s founder, Isaac Steidl, 44, was released from prison on Thursday. The Office of the Presiding Judge said he was placed under “judicial supervision”, must pay bail of 100,000 euros and was prohibited from leaving France.
A website he created in 2003 called “coco.fr” became infamous in France during the trial of Mr. Perico and 50 other men. All were found guilty last month, primarily for raping Mr. Perico’s ex-wife, Gisele. She was heavily sedated.
One of the charges against Mr. Steidl in connection with the Pericot case is managing an online platform that enables organized gangs to conduct illegal transactions. Other charges he faces include conspiracy to traffic in drugs, conspiracy to possess and distribute child pornography, aggravated pimping, and aggravated money laundering.
Steidl “categorically denies the accusations and pledges to cooperate fully to prove that he is not responsible for the charges,” Steidl’s lawyer Julien Zanatta told Agence France-Presse.
During the trial, Perricott said he met all of the men in a private chat room on the website called “Without Her known.” Most denied defendants have never seen that particular chat room.
However, they agreed to meet him at the scene and then moved the conversation to text message or Skype, arranging a visit to the Perico family’s home in the south of France, where the Perico family met with his now ex-wife. took part in the rape. He was in a deep drugged state.
Paris prosecutor Laure Becuau said in a statement that the website was implicated in more than 23,000 cases in France alone between 2021 and 2024, involving 480 victims. Police and prosecutors said in a statement that the case includes charges of child sexual abuse, pimping, prostitution, rape, drug trafficking, fraud and murder.
The site was shut down in June after an 18-month investigation across Europe. Paris prosecutors said at the time that police had frozen bank accounts in Hungary, Lithuania, Germany and the Netherlands and seized 5 million euros.
Steidl’s home in Bulgaria was searched at the request of a French judge during the course of the operation, prosecutors said.
Mr. Steidl grew up in the Var department in southern France. In April 2023, the French government agreed to his request to renounce his French citizenship. Last June, after his site was shut down, he was questioned by a Bulgarian trial judge in the presence of French law enforcement officials.
A French nonprofit group that fights child abuse, homophobia and illegal online content has been sounding the alarm about the site for years. Petition for closure More than 20,000 people signed it.
“This site was a haven for pedophiles,” said Sophie Antoine, who works on legal issues and advocacy for the French organization Anti-Child Prostitution.
Antoine said her organization often uses it to show child care professionals “how public the ‘darknet’ really is.” Registration was free and only required name, age and postal code. When you’re logged in, other users can contact you to chat and make suggestions, but those chats are immediately deleted when you sign off, she said.
